Subject Content-efficacy and Skills Proficiency of Trainee Agriculture Teachers Holding National Certificate in Agriculture, Zimbabwe

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which trainee agriculture teachers, with a National Certificate in Agriculture qualification, were confident in their ability to teach with respect to subject content and practical skills. This was achieved by examining how these trainee teachers perceived their subject content-efficacy and practical skills proficiency related to the Zimbabwe ‘O’-Level Agriculture Syllabus 5034. Forty-six trainee agriculture teachers from a technical teachers’ college participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire with items weighted on a 5-point Likert scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS Statistics 17.0. The trainee teachers were least efficacious in the laying out of experiments and Agricultural Economics but were rather efficacious in crop science and production. In practicals, trainee teachers were least efficacious in laying out experimental sites and farm machinery but rather efficacious in animal science and crop production. 

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which trainee agriculture teachers, with a National Certificate in Agriculture qualification, were confident in their ability to teach with respect to subject content and practical skills. This was achieved by examining how these trainee teachers perceived their subject content-efficacy and practical skills proficiency related to the Zimbabwe ‘O’-Level Agriculture Syllabus 5034. Forty-six trainee agriculture teachers from a technical teachers’ college participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire with items weighted on a 5-point Likert scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS Statistics 17.0. The trainee teachers were least efficacious in the laying out of experiments and Agricultural Economics but were rather efficacious in crop science and production. In practicals, trainee teachers were least efficacious in laying out experimental sites and farm machinery but rather efficacious in animal science and crop production.